Stolen Kisses
by DemonaBlack
Summary: Sirius Black has returned thanks to the Resurrection Stone and the Trio waste no time clearing his name and helping him recreate his life. The kiss was accidental.


**Title**: Stolen Kisses

**Author**: Demona Black

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim to own any of these characters or the HP world and I do not make any money from writing or posting this fanfiction.

**Pairing**: Hermione/Sirius

**Summary**: Sirius Black has returned thanks to the Resurrection Stone and the Trio waste no time clearing his name and helping him recreate his life. The kiss was accidental. The romance was unplanned. Harry's story may be over but Hermione's has only just begun.

**Rating**: N17 Overall

**Author's Notes**: I have flat out ignored a few facts that I didn't like from the books, mainly the deaths of Remus and Tonks and one or two other details that I felt needed to be changed for the good of the story.

* * *

The moon rose higher in the clear night sky and the three of them joined hands and walked with Harry as he went to meet his destiny. Sirius, James and Lily slowly drew back, letting Harry take the lead, letting him make his way to what he inevitably had to do alone. In their hearts and souls they knew that this was right but that didn't stop the tears stinging Lily's eyes.

Sirius felt tears on his cheeks too. He was so proud of the man his Godson had become. It made him cringe to remember the cruelty of the final words he'd used against Harry in a fit of childishness. He had told him that he was not as much like his father as he'd hoped and Sirius still remembered the broken look in the boy's eyes. Well he was wrong and he was right. Harry was a lot like his father but just as much he held the goodness and light of his beautiful mother. He was a braver man then either Sirius or James could ever be.

"I'm so sorry, James," Sirius said quietly as Harry drew further and further away in front.

"There was a great deal we couldn't have known would happen," Lily answered for her husband and James nodded in agreement.

"There will be time, Sirius," James said in a cryptic tone and gave him a lopsided smile. "The story isn't finished yet."

"Do you know something I don't then?"

"More of a feeling," Lily replied. "Things are so much clearer from this side."

They stopped and watched Harry approach the fire.

"I'm so proud of him," Lily said softly and Sirius felt her hand drop from his and turned to face her. "And you, Sirius."

Those last words took him off guard and he gave them both a quizzical look. "I…"

Harry let the Stone fall from his numbing fingers and Lily and James gave Sirius one last smile.

"I love you, mate," James said moments before both he and Lily began to fade.

Sirius looked down at his own hands but they didn't fade. "What the…?"

He looked back at the barely visible Lily and James just in time to see both of them smiling so brightly. They nodded at his silent question and were gone.

Sirius had a second of realisation before he grabbed at his chest. A sharp pain stabbed through and made him cry out moments before his world turned black.

* * *

When he opened his eyes it was almost dawn. The sun hadn't yet risen but the stars were fading and the world around him was lighter. Sirius groaned and shifted uncomfortably. His back hurt, his head hurt and he was bloody cold. Yes, he was most definitely alive.

But his movements stilled with the sounds of running footfalls. Someone was running through the long grass and seconds later another set of footfalls followed, heavier and slightly slower but who ever was doing the chasing was gaining. Grunting and breathing hard the pursuer closed in and finally when they passed Sirius took a chance and lifted his head to watch.

A woman stopped and spun on her heels. She was breathing hard, obviously she couldn't run any further so had decided to stop and fight. There was something very familiar about her but Sirius couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Jeans and T-shirt hugged the curves of her body and long brown curls fell around her face and shoulders.

"Please let her be on our side," Sirius whispered to nobody in particular.

It didn't take long for the larger pursuer to catch up. He wore the black robes and mask of the Deatheaters and by the way his was puffing it was clear that he wouldn't have been able to run much further either.

Sirius tried to get up. He knew that he should help the woman but his legs were so weak and his feet were numb. All he could do was roll onto his side and prop himself onto his elbow to watch. He reached into his pocket for his wand but came up empty. Shit! This whole back-from-the-dead thing wasn't working out so well.

"What are you doing?" The woman yelled. "The war is over, your Lord is dead. What more could killing me achieve?"

"The war may be over, Mudblood, but your punishment has only just begun." The gravelly male voice of the Deatheater was familiar in a very bad way. "Maybe our time is at an end and I am in no doubt that I will die this day, but not before you."

"You're insane," she replied and backed away a pace holding her wand ready at her side.

He just laughed and stepped closer.

The two enemies circled one another and the duel began. The Deatheater threw a curse and the woman dodged, throwing herself to the side and spinning to keep him in her sights. Sirius watched as they shot curses and hexes, dodged, shielded. She was fast but so was the Deatheater and they were both tiring.

Sirius tried to rise again and this time found his legs were steady. He still didn't have a wand but he had to do something.

Just then the Deatheater got a lucky shot in and managed to land a hex on the woman's hip. She cried out and staggered and in that moment he struck. Aiming his wand the man ripped off his mask to reveal himself to be Rabastan Lestrange.

His lip curled creating a mask of pure hatred and disgust as he pointed his wand at the struggling woman and whispered the forbidden spell, "Crucio."

She screamed and fell to the ground and the sound of her pain ripped into Sirius' chest as though the pain were his own. As fast as he could muster, Sirius grabbed a large rock from the ground and approached the Deatheater at a silent pace.

Rabastan whispered the curse again and there was no missing the excitement he was getting from this act of pure cruelty. The woman screamed again but this time Sirius was right behind Rabastan and without a word of warning he slammed the rock down on the Deatheater's head. The sad excuse for a man was dead before he hit the ground.

Without bothering to check Rabastan, Sirius knelt down next to the barely conscious woman. He lifted her head from the ground and placed it on his lap. "It's alright now, pet," he cooed gently. "He can't hurt you anymore."

She moaned softly but didn't respond.

Gently he combed his fingers through her long curls and felt his heart give an involuntary start when he felt the sheer soft silkiness of her hair. Up close she was very pretty. He wasn't sure he could call her classically beautiful but with her full pink lips, flushed cheeks and creamy skin she was the very image of an English rose.

Of all the things that could greet him on his return to life, saving this woman was more then he could have wished for. A wild shot of recklessness took him over as he sat there nursing this strange woman and without thinking of the consequences he lowered his mouth and gently brushed his lips against hers.

* * *

Hermione was being kissed. It was nice. She felt her chest flutter and her own lips respond to the gentle brushing of lips and whiskers. Somewhere inside her mind she knew that it was wrong what was happening, she knew these kisses were nothing like the wet, clumsy attempts Ron had made or the rougher ravishing kisses of Viktor.

Her attacker was gone, she had just caught a glimpse of someone coming up behind Rabastan before her eyes had shuttered closed to hide her from the pain. She'd heard the sickening _WACK_ of something hitting him hard and the weight of his body falling to the ground. Whoever was kissing her had saved her life; this stranger deserved to steal at least this one kiss if that was what he wished.

He pulled away and she could feel his heavy breath on her cheek before he lifted his face further away. "I'm sorry," he said in a voice that was familiar and yet distant. "I shouldn't have…"

She smiled despite the stain of pink stealing up her cheeks. "No you shouldn't have." She reached just above her right shoulder and found his hand. It felt weathered and strong with long fingers. Slowly she sat up and pulled herself around to face him, still sitting in the long grass. "You saved me."

She opened her eyes but all she could see was a blurry shape of a man. She blinked and the image became clearer. Even sitting down she could see that he was tall and built the way a man should be built with strong arms and a wide chest. He was handsome with long straight black hair hanging over both his shoulders. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. They were grey-blue like the ocean during a storm. She knew those eyes.

"Am I dead?" She whispered and fell back on her hands. She crawled backwards so desperate to get away from this thing that proved she had not made it through the war. "I can't be dead… Please don't take me now… Not now…"

He was watching her, his expression becoming more and more worried by the second. "You're not dead, pet. I knocked that bastard down before he could hurt you anymore. You're not dead."

"Then how can I see you?"

"Huh?"

She pointed to him and her hand shook. "You're dead. I saw you die."

He sat up straighter and seemed to be looking at her more closely until a sudden shocked outcry of recognition made her jump. "Hermione? Hermione Granger?"

"Sirius Black."

It was really him. Sirius Black alive and real and sitting in front of her. But it couldn't be. Even in the wizarding world it was impossible to return from the dead. Not counting Lord Voldermort but he was a very different story. He had to be an imposter; but why did he save her? He could be a spy but that still didn't explain why he saved her, he could have let her die and still managed to get to Harry.

And if he was an imposter how? He had died to long ago for Polyjuice to work and even a master of transfiguration couldn't change themselves completely into someone else. There was no other answer. It was really him.

"H…How?" She managed to stutter.

His lips turned up in an ironic smile. "Actually I was hoping that you could tell _me._ You always had all the answers when I knew you before."

He stood up and held out his hand to help her. She took his hand he pulled her easily to her feet but her legs were still wobbly. Just as she was starting to slip down again Sirius wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her against his stronger body, lending her his strength.

"Just give it a minute till your legs adjust again," he said softly into her ear.

His arm around her waist and the feel of his warm larger body made breathing difficult and it was hard to pull away but she forced herself to do just that.

"Thank you," she mumbled and took a few good steps back, putting a little more space between them. "So… You just woke up here?"

"Well yeah that about sums it up. I was with Harry before he…" His eyes suddenly shot wide. "Harry! Is he…?"

"Harry's alive." She rushed to reassure him. "He and Ron are helping to get the injured to St Mungo's Hospital. I was checking the outskirts of any lost survivors when…" She couldn't say any more but Sirius nodded his understanding.

He laughed and hung his head in relief. "I was with him when he went to meet Voldermort. He was using the Resurrection Stone and managed to bring back me and James and Lily. But then he dropped it and James and Lily disappeared; but I didn't."

"So maybe you will in a bit?"

"I don't think so," he replied and looked like he was trying to remember something. "There was a sharp pain in my heart. I think that was me coming back to life."

Hermione let her mind wander as they walked back to the castle together. There had to be a logical reason for him being back. There had to be a basic truth behind his resurrection. All at once she had it and spun around to face him.

"Bellatrix never intended to kill you. She had simply intended to knock you out, but of course with you so close to the Veil of Death you fell in and joined the world of the dead." She started to walk again as she spoke, letting her mind work quickly around the puzzle. "But you weren't dead; you were alive so maybe you weren't supposed to be there but nobody can escape death."

"Except through the Resurrection Stone," Sirius said smiling with triumph.

"Exactly! But Lily and James are really dead so they had to return. But not you."

"But not me."

His smug grin was infectious and Hermione laughed and shook her head as she looked at him. He looked much the same as he had that last time she saw him duelling by Harry's side. But there were differences. That trapped animal feel was gone, that haunted look in his eyes had faded. The rest had been good for him.

Just then she stopped again and spun to face him. "Did you kiss me?"

He stopped dead and backed away a step. He held up his hands in surrender but there was no mistaking the slightly cocky tilt to his mouth. "In my defence I didn't recognize you. You were just a pretty damsel in distress. Besides you kissed me back as I remember."

Hermione looked flustered and opened her mouth to argue but shut it again with a snap. "That wasn't my fault I didn't know you were… You."

"I guess that makes us even then, yeah?"

They started walking again side by side in silence. So much had changed over the last year. She had changed in so many ways she barely even recognized the woman she had become. Harry was no longer the innocent boy who saw the good in everyone, who trusted and loved with his whole heart. She hadn't missed the darkness growing within him since they started on Dumbledore's mission. She threw a sidelong look at Sirius and wondered how his return would affect Harry.

The Castle loomed high as they approached and Hermione was looking for her two closest friends when she heard the two voices in question calling her name.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled and she could see the burly red-head running towards her.

"Where have you been? We were really worried." Harry followed close behind.

"Oh dear," Hermione said. "Quick, Sirius, turn around. Maybe I should break this to them first."

She looked to see him do as he was told. "I don't know what I'm going to say to him."

There was no time to reply. Harry and Ron reached her side both looking concerned. "Did you find anyone else?" Harry asked, looking curiously at the man with his back turned to them.

"You could say that," Hermione said slowly and tried to pick her words but there was no easy way to say it. "Sirius turn around."

He turned around. "Hello, Harry."

Harry's mouth opened and shut, opened and shut, opened and shut.

"Harry you look like a goldfish," she said impatiently. "It's really him. I know it's… Unexpected but this is real. Sirius is alive again."

Harry was breathing hard. He stared at his Godfather as though he were some alien form for a whole minute before a low, angry growl bubbled in his throat. Before anyone could react Harry's fist swung back and he punched Sirius in the face.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed.

Just as Sirius fell with a grunt Harry dropped to his side and wrapped his arms around his Godfather who reciprocated with just as much zeal. Hermione could see the tears running down Harry's face as the two hugged like they would never let go and her own eyes stung with emotion.

Ron wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she buried her face against his chest and let her own tears come.

It was a long time later that the four of them stood in a small circle just looking at one another. There were no more words to describe how they felt. Too much had passed over the years to ever be properly reflected with speech.

"Sirius Black!" The loud booming voice of Auror Gregory Harris interrupted the moment and they turned to see the forty-something Auror marching towards them. "Finally you've decided to show your cowardly face, have you? You are under arrest for…"

But he never finished. Hermione, Ron and Harry formed a wall between the Auror and Sirius.

"Move aside. That man is a dangerous criminal. We've been hunting him since he escaped Azkaban."

"No." All three said together and Harry said, "This is my Godfather and he is completely innocent of all the charges laid against him. I can prove it.

"And head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt will back him up," Hermione added. "So would Auror Moody and Auror Tonks."

"Regardless," Gregory replied with a pompous ruffle of his robes. "He will need to come with me until your claims can be validated."

"Yeah? Well you'll have to take him over our dead bodies, mate." Ron stood to his full 6ft and glared at the Auror.

"Aiding and abetting an Azkaban escapee is a charge worthy of a lifetime sentence in Azkaban yourselves, I'll have you know," he blustered.

"I think not." A soft well controlled voice broke into the argument and Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped up beside Harry. "I know for a fact that Sirius Black is innocent of all charges. You will stand down Auror Harris."

Gregory's face flushed a deep angry red. "This isn't over." He said his voice angry and turned on his heel and stomped away to go harass someone else.

"That was a close one," Sirius managed to croak out. "For a moment there my life played over again and it was no more fun the second time round."

Kingsley laughed so loud the ground actually shook. "Sirius Black, you crazy bloody bastard," he bellowed and shook one of Sirius' hands vigorously with both of his.

Hermione cringed at the language but remained silent.

"How in four kinds of mermaid crap did you manage to get out this time?"

"Well I'll tell you one thing for sure, there were no mermaids involved," Sirius answered with a broad smile of his own. "I would have remembered that."

Kingsley swung an arm around Sirius' shoulders and Sirius in turn wrapped an arm around Harry, who wrapped his arm around Ron and Ron grabbed Hermione and pulled her in too. Together they stumbled and tripped their way to the Castle.

There was a lot that needed to be talked about and even more to be done. But for now what they needed was each other and a safe place to rest.

**_So what do you think of this first chapter? Should I keep going? Please R&R_**


End file.
